Terror Train

A Story by Conrad Rice

A magical late night train ride turns into a descent into horror for a group of young children

Benny lay in his bed, his little eyes not yet feeling the tiny tug of sleep; he simply lay there. He was not tired. He knew that he needed to fall asleep; he knew that it would do no good for him tomorrow if he had gone the entire night without getting any shut eye. But no matter how hard he tried; little Benny Chambers still could not fall into the wonderful embrace of slumber.

As Benny lay in his insomniac pose, he thought that he heard a slight rushing noise outside. At first he brushed it off, marked it as the beginning of a dream and therefore the beginning of needed sleep. But it came again, this time a little louder. Benny was sure that it was outside, in the street below.

Now there was another sound. This was a shrill mechanical whistle. When Benny heard it, it seemed to be more than just a whistle. He thought he heard voices intertwined in the whistle. But he could not tell if the voices were laughing with pure joy, or if they were uttering something else.

Slowly and cautiously Benny got out of bed and crept over to his window. He gazed out and saw the most wondrous thing in the street below. Stretching out down the block was a long silver train. It was one of those bullet locomotives, the ones usually seen amidst some mountains in Japan. Its polished metal shimmered underneath the full moon. Its lights glowed a dim yellow that lit the pavement ahead of it. Behind the forward car was an open door with pure white light shining out of it. The light was then obscured by the figure of a man with his hands on his hips, waiting for something or someone. It seemed to Benny that he was the one being waited on.

Benny turned and left his room. He made his way through the darkened house quietly so that he did not awaken his sleeping parents. He did not know what possessed him to investigate the long silver train in the street. Maybe it was that insatiable curiosity that nearly all children Benny’s age are possessed with. Or maybe it was something else. Benny did fancy that the train called to him. He thought he heard a voice speaking, telling him of the places that he could see.

Benny unlocked the front door and opened it. The train was still there. It still lay in all its glory beneath the full moon, the light reflecting off its silver hull. The figure still stood within the doorway. Benny walked across the lawn toward the door. As he did so the figure became defined and describable. He was a younger man, though old enough to Benny. He wore a black shirt, nice jeans, and a nicer pair of cowboy boots. He wore a name tag that said “Conductor Blaine,” on it.

“You Benjamin Chambers?” the man asked.

Benny jumped at the man’s sudden ability to speak, and then replied, “Yes, I am.” The man laughed and stepped off to one side.

“Come on in, little partner,” he said, “It’s your stop. Tonight you get to ride the train around. And the best part, you don’t have to pay any money. Ride the train tonight, have the time of your life.”

Benny stopped for a moment as he considered the offer before him. He had always been instructed by his parents never to get in a car with a stranger. But this was not a car, this was a train. And he was sure this was not what his parents had in mind when they had told him that. It was not common for trains to appear on the street in the middle of the night. Benny was sure it was all right. There was nothing wrong with the train. It looked beautiful.

Benny stepped through the door into the train. He heard it slide shut behind him.

“Welcome aboard,” the man said as he put a hand on Benny’s shoulder, “I’m Melmoth Blaine, the conductor of this train. Go on through that door and join the others. I’ll be up front at the controls. The world’s moving on, it’s time to go.”

Benny walked through the door that Melmoth had instructed him to. He stepped into a wonderful coach room. The benches within were all of a red leather the likes of which Benny had never seen before. Shining ebony wood was inlaid in nearly everything. The metal of the lamps was a burnished black; the lampshades themselves were dull orbs of orange.

There were others in here, kids just around Benny’s age. He sat down across the aisle from a black girl.

“What is this?” he asked her. She shrugged her shoulders.

“Don’t know,” she said, “I just in bed, this crazy train shows up, Mistah Blaine asks me if I wanna ride. By the way, name’s Serena. What’s yo’s?”

“Benny,” Benny replied to Serena.

The voice of Melmoth Blaine sounded in the coach room. “Welcome aboard, little partners,” he said over what must have been an intercom system of some kind. His voice sounded comforting. Benny yawned a little. He was beginning to feel tired already.

“Ah, now now,” Melmoth said, “You can’t fall asleep just yet. There’s too much to do, too much to see. Sit on down, my soon-to-be weary travelers. Let us see the night.”

The train began to move forward. It was a slow, smooth motion, not the quick jerk of an iconic steam locomotive. It seemed to Benny that the train purred like a cat as it began to slide on in motion and took pleasure in gliding through the night under the full moon. The other children’s mouths fell agape and a slight gasp escaped from them, a gasp of pure childlike wonder. It seemed that a magic was in the air as this unearthly train began its long run.

“Let’s have us something to drink,” the voice of Melmoth said. A door in the back of the car opened up and a cart began to wheel itself through the aisle. Upon it were enough glasses of water for all of the children seated. Benny took a glass from the cart; Serena did the same.

“Cool and clear,” Melmoth’s voice intoned, “Just what you need to wet the whistle and keep you awake on this little trip.” The last glass of water was taken from the cart. It shot back to the door from which it had come and went back to another part of the train. The door shut behind it.

“This train’s got a few tricks,” Melmoth said, “You could look out those windows we’ve got there, but that’s not really enough, now is it?” The walls suddenly vanished. A few of the children screamed out in sudden fright.

“There’s nothing to be alarmed about,” Melmoth cooed, his voice calming the children almost instantly, “The walls are still there. You can reach out and touch them. It’s just now you can see through them. Go on ahead, enjoy the view.”

Benny gazed out through the transparent walls. They were still in town, he recognized a few of the streets. He even saw his school, shrouded by the night as the train rolled on past. Everything seemed to be cast in an odd half-light, giving it a quasi-mystical appearance that made some things almost unrecognizable. The corner grocery store seemed to shimmer and warp as the train glided on by. Ordinary houses appeared other worldly when viewed through the light of the night, made of odd angles that shouldn’t have been possible, at least not in the waking world. Their windows and parapets transmogrified into portals and werewolves, playing games with the minds of the children.

The walls suddenly materialized into view again. The children jumped back with a start, but none were frightened now. This was becoming quite fun. Benny got a good look at the walls now. They were covered with engravings of life-sized cherubs, the little chubby children angels most often seen with a quiver of heart-tipped bows on Valentine’s Day. These upon the walls had upturned faces, their expressions those of what seemed to Benny to be utter joy.

“We still have time,” Melmoth said, “You all go ahead, talk and play games. I’ll put a little music on and stay at the wheel. Don’t worry about a thing. If you do need something, just press the big black button near the front door and I’ll see what I can do for you.” Music began to play in the coach, an odd little tune that talked of red doors painted black and girls in their summer clothes.

The children now began to talk amongst themselves. Their tone was of amazement and excitement. All expressed great wonder at being able to ride this magic train. All had the same story as Benny and Serena. They had been lying in bed, had heard the train pull up, and had accepted Melmoth Blaine’s invitation for a free ride. So far all were having a wonderful time.

“At home, me an mah folks didn’t have the money fo this,” Serena said to Benny, “I’m havin the time of mah life!” Benny had to agree with that sentiment. This was a lot of fun.

Then one of the children let out a large yawn.

“I’m tired,” he said, “I think I’m going to go to sleep.”

“That’s alright, Al,” Melmoth said, his voice coming from the still invisible intercom. “It happens to you sooner or later.” It seemed to Benny that Melmoth’s voice had a slightly mournful tone to it. “Just go ahead and shut your eyes. The train will go on with you.”

The boy laid out on the bench and shut his eyes. Suddenly his eyes snapped back open.

“No!” he yelled out. “Get it away!” The other children turned to him. Benny’s mouth fell open, and he cried out in fright when he saw him. The line between the boy and the bench was becoming very blurred. The children all let out various cries of horror and hurried away from the boy. He was struggling against this sinister osmosis, but it was to no avail. Soon only his face remained. A scream began to escape his mouth, but halfway through his throat turned to leather and it was cut off. Soon the seat was just as smooth as it had been, with no trace of the boy.

Then Benny turned toward the wall. There was a new cherub amidst the myriads on the walls already. Benny’s heart grew cold when he saw that it resembled the boy, no, it was the boy. It bore the same expression that the rest of its companions had. Benny saw now that this was not an expression of joy. Rather, the faces of these cherubs were upturned and contorted in cries of inhuman horror.

Now the children were in the throes of panic. They were screaming incoherently, their cacophony of voices sounding like they were speaking in tongues. A few were running about, their legs carrying them around the cabin while their mouths continued to utter their primal cries of fear.

“QUIET!” the voice of Melmoth blared out. The children all became stone silent. “It is a terrible thing what happened to our little friend,” Melmoth said. “But he isn’t really gone. He’s part of the train now. He’s still here with us. We can still go on with the ride, now can’t we?”

The response from the children was an overwhelming and resounding negative. They all rushed forward to the door through which they had entered the train. They got into the partition between the coach car and the head car. Benny was behind the first child. That child hit a button beside the door. With a metallic clink the door slid open.

Suddenly the children were hit with a powerful wind that threatened to pull them out of the train and into the night. The first child held onto the side of the door.

“Help me!” he cried out.

Benny reached for his hand, his other one clamped securely to a hand rail. The kid reached out for Benny’s hand, but in that moment succumbed to the suction. At that moment the train turned invisible again, allowing the children to watch the unfortunate one as he was hammered to bits against the side of the train before finally falling away into the night.

“I suggest you take your seats,” Melmoth said. There was no argument.

The children made their way back to their seats. They turned and looked out at the landscape made visible by the train’s translucent walls. They were far from the city, far from anything that Benny had ever known. Outside everything was still cast in the odd half-light of the full moon. But everything was strangely barren. There seemed to be no green thing out there. To Benny it most resembled a place he had heard about once, Monument Valley. Though this was a twisted caricature of that place. The rocks were all contorted and fashioned into shapes that just seemed wrong, like disturbed optical illusions. A pallid fog hung in the midnight air. Through it vague hints of things which should not exist moved about, shambling and raving in the mists. The children were filled with dread as they traveled through this cosmically evil place.

Now the walls mercifully reappeared. One of the children let out a loud yawn. The others all turned to him.

“Don’t fall ‘sleep!” Serena cried out. The kid nodded; it was evident in his eyes that he intended to keep himself from sleep and whatever it may bring. He got up and began to walk about in an attempt to keep slumber from his eyes. For a little bit it seemed that he would be able to stay awake. But then he let out an even bigger yawn and leaned against the wall, his eyes fluttering shut. Then they snapped open just as before. This time he tried to get away, but his leg had already fused to the ebony. The other children watched in horror, their faces grown pale. Slowly the boy was absorbed into the wall. He fought against it the entire time. At one point he managed to grab a lamp on the wall in an attempt to slow the process. But he found that his hand fused to the lamp. He screamed as the process quickened. Just like before, his cries were quickly silenced by the joining of his throat to the train. Benny turned and saw a new cherub beginning to form on the wall. He didn’t have to look closer to know what it looked like.

“Unfortunate really,” Melmoth said. “I was really hoping it would be a while longer before this would happen. Oh well, such is as such is, that’s what I always say.” Serena stood up.

“Mistah Blaine?” she asked.

“Yes, sweet?” Melmoth asked.

“What’s goin’ on?” Serena asked. “Why’s the kids who sleep gettin’ et by the train?” A low chuckle escaped Melmoth.

“Why my dear,” he said. “That’s how things work.”

“You said we could ride free!” Benny cried out.

“I said you didn’t have to pay money, little partner,” Melmoth replied. “I didn’t say there wouldn’t be any other payment. You fall asleep, the train’ll take you. Those are the terms, that’s the way things work. It’s tough but it’s life.”

The kids were all now very frightened. Whispers flew amongst them. A few began to cry, their faces contorted in blubbering pleas for mommy or daddy. Benny felt like joining them. This wasn’t what he’d signed on for, not at all.

But soon Serena stood on a bench and called out, “Shut up now!” Her sudden assertiveness hushed all of the children. “We need to stay awake!” she continued. “Ya fall asleep, the train’ll eat ya. Get it?” We can play games, sing, anythin’. But we can’t start yawnin’ and gettin’ all sleepy.” Serena’s suggestion was met with nods of assentment.

“But for how long?” a red-faced girl asked.

“Till the ride’s ovah,” Serena said.

“When’s that?” someone else asked.

“Who knows?” the voice of Melmoth interrupted. “Even I don’t have any control over that. The train will stop when the train feels like it. Until then, we’ll just keep on coasting through the night. But go on ahead with your plan, my little partners. I like it; but you’re not the first to try it. Friendly word of warning.”

Melmoth fell to silence. Now the kids all turned to a game of twenty questions. Benny did not fully participate. He was not feeling weary yet, but something nagged at him. He was thinking about what Melmoth had said. “Not the first to try it.” There had been others before. Benny realized he only had to look at the walls to know that. The sheer amount of cherubs on the walls shook him. And then he remembered that he’d only seen the first car of the train.

The game lasted for a very long time. But then one of the girls’ eyes fluttered and she fell against the side of the bench. The same process of joining began again.

“Keep playing!” Serena yelled over the cries of the latest victim, “You pay mind to her, fear creeps in! Fear’ll mess you up! Keep playing.” So the children continued to play even as the girl’s absorption was complete and a new cherub joined the others on the wall, its face upturned in a cry of horror and agony like all the others.

And so Benny watched as the children continued to play as the train ride continued on into the alien night. Though they were able to keep sleep at bay for the most part, one by one they were falling away, and new cherubs were appearing on the walls. Every so often glasses of cold water would wheel out on the little cart, courtesy of Melmoth. They helped a great deal, but it was still not enough. Finally Serena stood up again.

“Mistah Blaine, why won’t you stop this train?” she asked.

“No can do,” Melmoth replied. “I told you that’s out of my hands. The train will stop itself when it feels like it.”

“When’ll that be?” Benny asked.

“I told you, I don’t know,” Melmoth’s voice was sounding agitated. “Why don’t you ask it? Though you won’t learn anything that’ll help you.”

Benny turned to the back of the coach. “Train, when will this ride stop?”

“Never,” came a voice both smooth and sinister.

“Melmoth?” Benny asked.

“Not so much, little one,” this new voice replied. “Melmoth is no better off than you. He’s only alive now because he works for me better as he is. He’s a trustee, if you will.”

“Let us go!” Serena cried out.

“Uh, ah, uh,” the train said. “I’m afraid I can’t let you go. See, the wind out there’s going by so fast, you’ll get torn to shreds. But you saw that already, didn’t you?” The train spoke with evil; its voice was laced with cruelty.

“Why are you doing this?” Benny cried.

“Everybody needs to eat,” the train replied. “But why are you so afraid of it? I thought everyone always spoke of togetherness, of being one. Here we are all one. Just shut your weary eyes and join my timeless chorus.”

At that moment the train’s whistle blew. Whereas before Benny only thought he heard voices, now he heard them for sure. But they were not laughing with joy as he had previously surmised. They were crying and screaming in horror.

One of the children stood up.

“I hate you, train!” he screamed out. He ran over and began to pull on a lamp. He ripped it off of the wall. Impassioned primal screams rose from his throat as he began to smash the lamp against the bench. Suddenly near-liquid extensions of the train snaked out to the boy and entangled him. He cried out in horror as he was pulled right into the floor. A new cherub did not appear on the wall this time. Instead, another lamp appeared to replace the one so newly destroyed.

“That was a big no-no,” the train said. “He was a very bad boy.” The children all drew away from the walls now, murmuring with fear. Would the train simply eat them now and not wait for them to fall asleep?

“Why are you doing this?” Benny cried out again.

“Because it’s what he’s always done,” Melmoth replied. “It was built for this, and it’ll keep doing it right till doomsday.”

The train laughed. “Quite right, Melmoth,” it said to him. “It is my purpose. But you all need not fear it. Sleep, and let me construct your dreams.”

The children sat in silence at this. They had thought Melmoth to be the cause of this horror. The realization that this was no mere machine, that the train itself was alive and that Melmoth was just as much a prisoner there as them, that changed everything.

“What do we do now?” Serena asked.

Another kid got up. “Maybe we should do what he says,” he suggested. The others turned to him.

“Who’re you?” Serena demanded.

“I’m Walter O’Donnell,” the kid replied.

“Why?” Benny asked. “He’ll just eat us up.”

“What can we do otherwise?” Walter asked, “He’s obviously much stronger than all of us. We can’t stay awake forever; sooner or later we’re going to fall asleep. And maybe it won’t be so bad.”

“Won’t be so bad?” Serena asked, “Did ya think them other two was havin’ a jolly time? They was screamin’ Walt, screamin’ fearsome. No, that ain’t no way out.”

“How do you know?” Walter asked, “What do you know anyway? You probably haven’t been to school a day in your life. I’m in junior high; I know a lot more than you.” A fire blazed to life in Serena’s eyes.

“There’s some things you don’t need schoolin’ to know,” she said, her voice grown low in anger, “One of those things is what’s good’ n what’s evil. This train is evil and blacker than the night. An’ somethin’ I took as truth a long time ago was that if you threw in with evil, your soul was damned to darkness. You want to be a part of this rushin’ darkness? Then lose your soul.”

Walter shook his head. “I don’t believe you,” he said, “Good and evil are only points of view. Why should we conform to that? Why should we limit ourselves like that? We ought to be able to do things without having to worry about some restriction like good and evil.”

There was a sound of squeaking metal from the train. “Yes, Walter,” it said to him, “Look at Walter, children. He sees the truth. Come to me, and all shall be one in me. You shall have new life in me.”

“NO!” Serena yelled out, “This ain’t right! This train is darkness! It’s evil! You go with it, you won’t see anyone you love again! You hear me? No one! I’m going to the back of the car, keep myself from sleepin’ somehow. If anyone wants to come, you’re welcome. But if you’re with Walt, I won’t mourn ya.” Serena walked to the back of the car. Benny and five others followed her. He’d heard enough of this train to know that Serena was telling the truth

“Let’s sleep,” Walter said to the ten that had thrown their lots in with him. All of them sat on a bench and curled up to sleep. Benny watched with horrified fascination, discovering that most human of traits. No matter how horrible something might be, you find you can’t look away.

“Plug your ears,” Serena told the other six, “It’s about to get a little loud.” Once again the train began its macabre joining process. Benny did not follow Serena’s advice. He looked on as Walter and his group discovered that Serena had been right all along. Walter was in fact facing Benny.

“HELP!” he cried out as his legs disappeared into the bench, “HELP ME!” But Benny stood where he was. There was nothing he could do anyway. Soon the screams stopped, and new cherubs joined the others on the wall. The train chuckled.

“We are all happy here,” it said.

So the seven that were left returned to the previous tactics for staying awake. It seemed that the glasses of water arrived more frequently now.

“What if they’ve been drugged?” one of the other kids asked once. “What if the more we drink, the sleepier we get?” Serena shook her head.

“I don’t think the train controls the water,” she says, “I think that’s Mistah Blaine’s department. He wants us to beat the train. He’s doin’ all he can to help us.”

“It will do you all no good,” the train said. “No matter how hard you try sooner or later you will fall asleep. And then you will join all the others in compound bliss. Why postpone the inevitable? Why are you so frightened of a myriad Elysium? I am peace, I am salvation. Join your voice with mine and sing joy everlasting.”

Serena turned to the back of the train. “If you gotta run yo’ mouth,” she said. “Speak truth demon. We ain’t got time for yo’ flowery lying. Unless you tellin’ us how things is, we ain’t listenin’.”

The train was silent then. But Melmoth spoke up.

“Very good, little partners,” he said. “I am proud to tell you that you’ve lasted longer than any other passengers now. Congratulations are in order and are duly provided by yours truly. But I can’t help you anymore. The train won’t let me. It’s getting angry, malicious. It hates defiance.”

“Why are you doing this for it?” Serena asked. “You don’t have to.”

“I do,” Melmoth replied, “Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve seen sunlight? Years and years. Ever since I got on this train as a passenger decades ago I’ve been here. I was the last one to last the longest. I couldn’t bear the thought of going through what the others I rode with that night went through. So I made a deal with the train. And we’ve both held true. I drive the train, the train lets me be. I try to help the children however I can. But it’s never enough. Sooner or later they all fall victim. No one has ever escaped this train. Not even me.”

Melmoth fell to silence. No one bothered to ask him anything else. The full hopelessness of the situation was now laid plain and bleak. Benny was now very scared. But he kept going on. They all did. They kept playing their games and singing their songs. But it was not enough. They kept falling off and joining the train, joining the enemy.

Soon only Benny and Serena were left. Benny was amazed that he had lasted this long. He was still only slightly tired. Yet how many hours had it been since he’d gotten on this thing? He didn’t know; it felt like an eternity. Serena wasn’t doing as well. She was yawning more and more as time dragged on. Benny had to slap her every so often a while ago. It was becoming obvious that even his aid was not going to help much longer though.

“Melmoth?” Benny asked. “Why won’t you help us?”

“I can’t, little partner,” Melmoth replied. “The train won’t let me.”

“Why?’ Benny asked.

“I told you already,” Melmoth said. “If I help you, if I help anyone leave this train, I become just like everyone else. My face becomes just another cherub on the wall.”

“So that’s it?” Benny asked. “Just because you are afraid of the train getting you, you’re going to let it get everyone else?”

“It’s not that simple,” Melmoth said, though his voice faltered when he said it.

“I think it is,” Benny said, desperation and anger creeping into his voice. “You’re scared! You’re a coward! People have died because of you, and you’ve done nothing but sit in the driver’s seat of this wreck!”

“Benny!” Serena cried out, her voice filled with a level of pain and horror that could mean only one thing. Benny turned slowly not wanting to see what he knew was happening. His eyes fell upon Serena and he saw that what she had long opposed was even now happening to her. She was slowly becoming part of the bench. It seemed that her integration process was happening at an even slower pace than the other children’s. The train was dragging it out on her, displaying its contempt for the most vocal of its opposition. Benny looked on as Serena’s face contorted in expressions and grimaces of such terror and fright that it made his blood run cold. Soon only her outline could be seen on the seat, and then even that faded. Benny did not have to look to see that a black cherub now flew horrified among the others.

“Now only you are left,” the train said to Benny. Its voice did not have the smug assurance that it had displayed previously. It was filled with hate and malice at this one, the most defiant yet of its victims. “Do not think that you can outlast me,” it declared. Benny turned and saw that the back of the car was opening up. He could see far back into the train now, through the other cars. Upon their walls were millions upon millions of cherubs. Their faces all displayed the same horror that the ones in Benny’s car had. The walls of cherubs seemed to stretch on forever.

Now Benny was aware of a red glow in the back of the train. The walls began to rush past him, and he drew nearer to the red glow. The train began to laugh now, a cruel maniacal abuse of laughter that made Benny’s heart stop. The walls were but a blur now as Benny flew through all the cars toward the very rear of the train. He drew near to the source of the red glow and saw its horrible origin full and clear. It was an engine, a burnished black engine whose pipes and blocks made a cacophonic symphony as they ground and worked together. Benny’s hands covered his ears and tried to stifle the noise, but it did him no good. And upon the front of the engine was the worst thing of all. Fashioned out of a shiny, sinister, black metal was a skull. Red light shone through every opening in that deathly face. The skull was laughing, the skull was the true brain of the train. Here was the gravemind.

Suddenly a pair of strong arms grabbed Benny from behind. He felt himself being jerked around and pulled away from the mind engine.

“Hang on,” the voice of Melmoth said. Benny looked up and saw that it was Melmoth himself who was bearing him away.

“What are you doing?” Benny asked him.

“Getting out of the driver’s seat,” Melmoth said as he carried Benny back through the train. The thing screamed in outrage.

“Melmoth!” it thundered. “I will feast upon your bones!”

“I know!” Melmoth yelled in response. “But mine will be the last!”

Melmoth carried Benny all through the train. It resisted this, fought against the theft of its prey. Tentacles of wood and leather reached out to hinder them. But Melmoth fought them off and ran on.

Finally Melmoth and Benny reached the front of the train. Melmoth kicked open the door to the outside.

“Why are you doing this?” Benny asked him. Melmoth took Benny’s shoulders and looked him in the face.

“You said some things that made a whole lot of sense,” he replied, “I thought about it and realized that I was a coward. I was a stinking scared coward for letting this happen to so many innocent kids when I could have had the power to stop it. You are my atonement.” Melmoth picked him up. Benny saw more tentacles snaking up behind Melmoth and cried out.

“Goodbye, little partner,” Melmoth said. Then he threw Benny through the door and out of the train.

Benny sailed out into the night. The train had slowed down, he wasn’t in danger of getting hammered to death like the last boy to leave this way. In the doorway he saw the tentacles join Melmoth to the train he had served for so long. But even so they screamed in defeat. One had gotten away. The train had lost a victim.

Benny sat up with a start in his bed. He looked around. His sheets were soaked with cold sweat, and his hands were clammy with fear. He heard a whistle and immediately his heart began to race. He ran to the window in fear, but the street below was empty.